You may remember I have a nook in my living room that is probably meant for a dining table (mine is in the bay window instead) but in the year I’ve lived here has acted as a place to temporarily dump all the moving boxes and IKEA packaging, storage for things I didn’t know what to do with and somewhere to dry my laundry. No more!

My dad was getting rid of this TV unit so I asked for it, just as something to put in that space. At the weekend I was looking for my box of ribbon and realised I could use it to store all my sewing stuff. Before, it was scattered around the flat, with my poor sewing maching dumped on the floor of my studio and my fabric folded away in a plastic crate. I moved it all over and it’s perfect. Ideally, everything would be in my studio, but it’s too small even to sew at my desk and really I do all my sewing in the living room anyway.

The left drawer has all my tapestry canvas and other bits and bobs, while the right drawer holds all my fabric for easier rummaging. The shelves above are perfect for my tins of ribbon and tapestry wool, a few books and my Spoonflower colour chart.

I moved through a few decorative things from my studio for on top including a jar of my favourite buttons, a tin of less exciting buttons, a cardboard house of sewing notions and the inspirational print Etsy sent me. My sewing machine sits on top too, ready to be moved to the dining table for sewing. I’m also thinking, since it’s IKEA, that I could quite easily buy some extra table legs and extend it to sitting height so it’s even more useful. I’m already much more inspired to get back to my dressmaking!

I guess someone’s looking forward to Spring. I didn’t expect this to turn out quite so sunshiney, but it was very sunny morning when I made these. And yes, sunflowers are not a March flower, but it just happened. My choice of character for March is Bunny from SCK since it’s my birthday month and Easter is not far off. Check back throughout the month for more Bunny posts and I will probably sneak the other SCK animals into a few things too.

I’ve made a desktop wallpaper for March with or without a calendar, plus iPhone 5 + 6 wallpapers too with both Bunny and just the sunflower, which I love and have already been creating patterns with. These should fit most computers and smartphones. Download the March Wallpapers

Want to be emailed on the 1st of every month with a link to download the latest wallpapers, instead of waiting for me to blog them? Well then, join my mailing list and you’ll get an email of cuteness once a month, as well as first look at my sales and other exclusive offers.

I’ve been avoiding the crazy weather this week (flip-flopping between freezing rain and warm sunshine every half hour) and working on lots of new things, so much so that I am way behind on telling you about them so look out for lots of exciting posts coming up. I took the above photo for SCK to show off all my plushie bunnies and food with faces.

While I love being able to sell my designs on amazing products through on-demand sites, I can’t afford to buy many things for myself. Whenever I get a sale email from Zazzle or check my sales on Society6, it’s both exciting and envy-inducing! Here’s a few things people have been buying recently that made me go, I want that too!

I think a Society6 tote bag is next on my purchase list and I’m glad someone else loves my Solar System characters.

These duvet covers and pillows were all sold on the same day so I really hope it was all one order and someone has the cutest bedrooms ever. Can I come and visit? I have a weird IKEA sized duvet so I can’t have one of these, but that makes me want one even more.

I don’t really need any more mugs, but these would brighten up my mornings, and they’re really good quality too – my dad has a planet one.

Zazzle‘s products never look quite as spiffy as Society6 onscreen, but everything I’ve ordered has been great, and they have so many awesome products. Good picks here. I especially love that someone bought my Halloween gift wrap! On-demand is perfect for things like that where, even when I’m designing it, I’m thinking ‘no-one but me will want this’. The sticky notes are on my wishlist too – I need to add some more characters to those soon. And the totes are pretty basic, but super cheap too.

I do have some Zazzle commission to spend, so I might order a few bits for my birthday next month. If you ever buy something, do send me photos!

When my dad was here last week, we all went over to Edinburgh for the day. We took a detour via The Kelpies, which was definitely a good idea. They are so massive! You can walk right up to them and there are lots of good spots to take photos. It’s even free, though you can also pay for a guided tour and go inside as well.

Grangemouth is not the most picturesque setting, but they’ve done a good job of making things nice – there’s a canal running through the site and some cute cabins selling snacks and gifts.

After that, we headed to Edinburgh and did park and ride on a tram! The tramlines have taken so long to build that it’s still almost shocking to see them finally up and running. I love a tram though so it was quite exciting. They’re really nice too – super quiet and pretty cheap. Look at that awful sky! It actually cleared up beautifully later.

I mostly pottered about my usual spots – having a look around Anthropologie and Paperchase, dropping stock off at Hannah Zakari and having a wander round the National Museum. I was going to go to the gaming exhibition but it was TEN POUNDS so I just looked at all the cool stuff in the pop-up shop instead.

We also finally made it to Lovecrumbs. I’ve been hearing about their wardrobe of cake for years now and it was great to finally check it out. We shared two brownies – sour cherry and caramel – and they were both amazing. It was pretty packed and popular and all the cakes looked good so I will definitely be popping in again.

After a bit of testing, I’m now able to put my Kawaii Japan book back in stock with a refreshed design and a few minor updates. I’m still rather proud of this book, so please do buy if you’d like to read all about my three trips to Japan, along with lots of full colour photos and cute illustrations.

I realise the paperback is a bit pricey (though there’s free shipping for the next couple of days, if you buy direct from Lulu with the code DBS15), but the PDF and ebook versions are only £2-£3 depending where you live and where you buy. This updated version is now available via your Kindle, Nook or other e-reader, and you can also buy a PDF from Payhip to read on any device or computer.

The other big news is that Etsy have finally, grudgingly, agreed to deal with all the VAT stuff on digital files so all my zines are back up for sale there with instant download. EU buyers will be charged VAT on top of my prices, but since Etsy have been dragging their heels about implementing anything, I’m not sure that’s in place yet so take advantage while you can!

I’ve been all over the place this week as my dad was visiting, including a trip to The Kelpies and Edinburgh that I will blog about soon. I also ate this friendly cinnamon bun in IKEA and feel a bit guilty now – sorry Monsieur Le Bun!

Disclaimer

All opinions are my own and I am not compensated or sponsored for writing about any products or services featured unless stated in the post. Links to shops and websites may be affiliate links - I receive a small commission from your orders at no cost to you, which helps me fund this site. I do not accept advertising.